


whenever you're ready

by emilia_kaisa



Category: Quantico (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Falling In Love, How Do I Tag, Not Beta Read, Past Tense, ashmin, hurrey, little ooc maybe, simon and nimah are best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5245880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilia_kaisa/pseuds/emilia_kaisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Simon is a quiet guy with a big glasses, great mind and only one friend.<br/>And then his best friend's sister appears, changing his world and his heart.</p><p>(The lamest summary ever.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. we let the waters rise

**Author's Note:**

> I love Raina and Simon. I'm obsessed with them.
> 
> I stole the title (and chapter titles) from 'Surrender' by Natalie Taylor.
> 
> I'll fix all mistakes.

 

The class was extremely boring. But to be honest for Simon Asher every class was boring; he already had knew all those things they were trying to teach him so why in the hell he had to keep coming to that stupid place? Bored to the infinity, he glared aside to meet his friend’s gaze.

‘Kill me.’ Nimah muttered, rolling her eyes dramatically. Simon just smirked, feeling better that he wasn’t the only one who had to suffer for being too smart.

 

 

‘That was the most boring hour of my life.’ Nimah said, sitting next to Simon and putting her plate on a table. Simon just smiled in response.

He was quiet and smarter that the rest of students, and probably some teachers; she was intelligent as hell and definitely too mean for the most of the people. They were two outsiders, who accidentaly had sitten at the same table during a lunch break. Simon liked to say that he was the only one who could deal with Nimah’s sharp tongue and she was the only one who could understand all what he was saying. So yeah, they were pretty good together.

Suddenly Nimah snorted shortly.

‘What?’ Simon asked curiosusly.

‘Looks like Shelby and Caleb are breaking up.’ she said, glaring over Simon’s shoulder.

‘Again?’

‘Turn around.’

Simon turned around and he saw Shelby and Caleb arguing in the corner. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about but their faces and violent gestures were enough.

‘They really hate each other. I have no idea why they’re keeping getting back together.’ Nimah said, watching them with moderate interest.

‘I think they actually love each other. They just can’t figure it out.’

‘Since when you believe in love?’

Simon shrugged his shoulders in response. He didn’t want to have this conversation with Nimah again- she was pretty cynical about love.

‘Hey, can I sit with you?’ aksed someone behind Simon.

‘Yeah, sure.’ Nimah answered before he had a chance to turn around.

‘Thanks.’ Alex Parrish smiled and sat next to Simon.

He knew Alex from their math classes. She was pretty smart and she was actually nice to him. He wouldn’t mind takling with her from time to time. And he knew that Nimah and her were almost friends- they were sometimes going out together.

‘I hope I’m not interrupting.’ Alex smiled ‘But Shelby is in a bad mood and I’m sure she could kill me with her eyes.’

‘Yeah, I saw her and Caleb.’ Nimah nodded.

‘Watching them is just exhausting.’ Alex sighed.

Simon didn’t have anything against their little girl talk. It was quiet amusing to listen to.

‘Hey, would you like to go shopping with me this weekend?’ Alex asked Nimah ‘I have to buy something nice for my mother’s birthday.’

‘Why not.’ Nimah agreed ‘But can I take my sister with you?’

Alex’s eyes widened ‘You have a sister?’

Ate the same time Simon asked ‘Your sister is coming?’

Nimah sighed.

‘Yes, I have a sister. I didn’t mention her to you?’

Alex shook her head.

‘When we moved here she decided to stay with our grandparents in Atlanta, you know, so they weren’t alone. But suddenly they decided to spend the rest of their money on travelling around Europe, so she’s moving here this Friday.’

‘That’s cool.’ Alex said ‘Is she the same age?’

‘We’re twins.’

‘Wow, this is awesome. Are you, you know, identical?’

‘Yeah.’ Nimah smiled ‘But besides our look we’re totally different.’

‘You mean that she’s the nice one.’ Simon said with a smile and Nimah rolled her eyes.

‘That’s totally what I mean. You’ll see on Monday.’

Simon was very curious; Nimah had never talked about her sister too much but he could see that she was missing her.

 

 

 

Monday morning was windy and rainy so when Simon reached his locker he was seeing absolutely nothing. He was trying to raindrops from his glasses when he heard someone behind him.

‘Excuse me’ the voice was soft and polite ‘can you tell me where the history class?’

Simon turned around and saw Nimah. Well, he knew that she wasn’t Nimah, but some part of him was still surprised when he saw the girl that was looking exactly like his best friend. But at the same time she was different; there was something about her eyes, the way she was smiling; she was looking more fragile, softer than Nimah.

‘Actually, I’m going there too, so I can show you the way.’

‘Thank you.’ she smiled and Simon could feel himself blushing. He was wondering if he should introduce himself when she spoke again ‘My sister told me how to find my class but I got lost. I’m Raina, by the way.’

‘Yeah, um, it’s nice to meet you. Actually, I know your sister very well. I’m Simon.’

Raina’s face lit up.

‘Simon Asher. It’s great to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.’

He just nodded and gently shook her hand, feeling suddenly something warm building up inside him.

 

 


	2. we drifted to survive

 

When Simon entered the cantinee Nimah and Raina were already there and Alex was sitting in front of them.

‘Hi everybody’ he said, sitting next to Alex in front of Raina who smiled at him.

‘How’s your first day going, Raina?’ Alex asked.

‘It’s fine. But a lot of people thought I was Nimah and asked whed had I started to wear hijab.’

‘Don’t worry, they’ll get used to you.’ Alex stood up and glared at her phone ‘Okay, I need to go, Miss Shaw asked me to help some guy with math. Couldn’t say no!’

‘What’s his name?’ Nimah asked.

‘Ryan something... I don’t remember.’

‘Booth.’ Simon said and all three girls stared at him ‘He’ll try to hit on you but he’s cool.’

‘Thanks.’ Alex laughed shortly ‘See you later!’

 

Nimah smiled widely.

‘Talking about hitting on somebody- don’t turn around, Elias is staring at you.’

Simon sighed loudly and hid his face in his hands.

‘Who’s Elias?’ Raina asked, clearly confused.

‘He has a crush on Simon.’

Simon noticed with surprise that Raina blushed a little after Nimah’s words. Or maybe that was just a game of light?

‘Oh, I didn’t know that...’

‘He’s not gay.’ Nimah cut her off, rolling her eyes ’ But in some wicked way he’s convinced that it’s better for him when people believe he is.’

‘It’s not like that and you know it.’ Simon said quietly. He liked to think that he was immune to Nimah’s character but sometimes he wished that she would be more understanding. And his choice to pretend to be gay was a thing Nimah couldn’t or didn’t want to understand. And sometimes... sometimes she was a little bit too cruel even for Simon.

‘Yeah. Whatever. I need to go to the library. Good luck on chemistry, Raina. See you later, Simon.’

 

 There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Simon didn’t want Raina to think that he was selfish or unfair by pretending to be someone he wasn’t. But when he found enough courage to look her in the eyes he didn’t find judgement; she was just smiling at him softly and he felt a sudden urge to explain her everything.

‘It’s not easy.’ he said quietly ‘It’s just safer with... when I have boundries.’

Raina nodded and Simon suddenly felt bad for telling her all of that. They had met a few hours before and maybe she wasn’t feeling comfortable with him telling her things like that...

‘I’m sorry.’ he said quickly ‘I don’t want to...’

‘It’s okay.’ she said ‘I understand.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes. We both have boundries’ she lightly touched her scarf ‘because without them it’s easy to hurt us. And we just don’t want to get hurt.’

Simon was staring at her, speechless, amazed how she could read him so well. She was the first person who understood him and admitted to think the same. His heart started to beat slightly faster than usual. He felt like like the string of connection between them started to change into something stronger...

... and then the moment was ruined.

‘Hi, Simon.’ he hear a familiar voice behind him.

He had to use all his strength not to sigh out loud. He slowly stood up and turned around, trying to fake a smile fast enough.

‘Elias.’

‘I was thinking’ Elias smiled widely ‘If you have time after school...’

Simon was desperate to find an excuse he hadn’t used before, but his mind was blank.

And then Raina’s sweet voice rescued him.

‘I’m sorry’ she smiled charmingly ‘but Simon promised to show me the town. Everything’s so new!’

‘Oh, right’ Elias said with unsure face ‘So... another time.’

When Elias walked away Simon sighed.

‘Thank you. He’s usually too scared of Nimah to talk with me. I owe you.’

‘Well’ Raina smiled and Simon swear she was blushing a little again ‘I really didn’t see the town, I only know where my street and a shopping mall are.’

‘So... maybe you’d like to go on a walk with me? I could show you everything. We can take Nimah with us.’ he said, thinking that it would be more comfortable for her if they weren’t alone.

‘I’d love to.’ she said with a soft smile ‘Tomorrow?’

‘Sounds great.’

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I love your comments :)  
> (And I hope you don't mind so short chapters- they're easier for me to write.)


	3. I needed you to stay

 

Raina glared at her reflection in a mirror and for the third time checked if the scarf was looking good; well, if she was looking good in general.

Breathe ou, breathe in, she wasn’t nervous at all.

But she was.

Raina wasn’t exactly sure why was she acting like that. She was just going for a walk with Nimah’s friend, it wasn’t a big deal, she had done things like that before. But now, it was different. He was different from everyone she had ever met. There was just something so familiar about him what was making her feel comfortable in his presence. It was quite hard to believe that she had met him a few days earlier.

‘Are you waiting for Simon?’ Nimah appeared from nowhere behind Raina.

‘Umm, yeah.’

‘Great. Can we meet by the fountain at six? Mom wants me to do some stuff for her right now.’

‘Sure.’ Raina answered, feeling a little sting of something that could be disappointment.

The door bell rang sharply.

‘It’s Simon.’ Nimah said with a smirk ‘He’s never late. Enjoy your walk!’

‘Thanks. See you later.’ Raina waved her sister and quickly moved to the door.

Simon smiled widely when she opened the door.

‘Hi.’ he said.

‘Hi.’ Raina answered, feeling that she had to smile too.

For a moment they were just staring at each other, grinning with no specific reason.

‘So... should we go?’ Simon asked finally, breaking the silence.

‘Yes, yes.’ Raina closed the door behind her. ‘Oh, Nimah wants to meet with us next the fountain? At six.’

Simon sighed, clearly amused.

‘By the fountain. Of course.’

‘There’s something wrong with that?’ Raina asked, confused.

‘No, no’ Simon shook his head ‘You’ll uderstand when you’ll see.’

 

 

It was probably the nicest walk in Raina’s life.

It was just so easy, walking with him and talking about everything. And sometimes they were just walking next to each other in comfortable silence none of them felt forced to break.

It was a quarter before six when they went to a park. It was a nice, shaded place and Raina immediately liked it. She already knew she would be coming there often.

And then she saw it.

‘What is this?’ she asked incredulously and Simon bursted into laugh.

‘This is our fountain.’

‘It’s awful.’ Raina said, looking at something what was looking like a hybrid of a dolphin, mermaid and something else- probably seaweed.

‘It is.’ Simon agreed with a grin.

And then again they were looking at each other with a wide smiles on their faces.

‘But seriously, how do you like it here?’ Simon asked and Raina could hear something strange and new in his voice. He was looking at her like her response was the most important thing in the world. His gaze was so intense that she felt herself blushing a little.

‘I like it a lot.’ she said quietly and Simon’s face lit up.

Raina’s heart fluttered in her chest and she had no idea why.

‘Nimah’s here.’ Simon said suddenly, looking over Raina’s shoulder.

‘Hey there!’ Nimah was definitely in a good mood ‘Good to see that you didn’t bore my sister to death.’

‘Good to see that you’re charming as always.’ Simon responded immediately.

Nimah smirked and poked shoulder, telling him something quietly.

Raina’s stomach clenched.

Because for some strange reason watching her sister and Simon being so close with each other was making her feel... strange. They were laughing and bickering and they probably forgot about her for a moment. Raina was used to it; Nimah was always the more interesting one. But this time... Raina for the first time wished for things to be different.

 


	4. my love, where are you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter, really!  
> As always, a lot of mistakes, I'll fx them all.

 

Simon was wondering what he had done wrong.

His walk with Raina had been one of the nicest, the most peaceful moment of a past few years. He had never felt so comfortable with anybody else before. So... happy.

But now everything seemed to be gone.

Simon glanced at Raina, who was sitting in front of him, looking down at her plate.

She was avoiding his eyes.

She was barely talking to him.

Something had happened on their walk, something that made her step back. It was so hard to believe that only a few days earlier they had been talking about everything.

Next to Simon Alex and Nimah were loudly talking about Ryan- the guy Alex was helping with math.

‘He’s really, really cute.’ Alex said with a smile ‘And he’s a pretty good kisser.’ 

‘Oh, really?’ Nimah laughed and Simon felt suddenly very tired. The noise around him was exhausting. He closed his eyes for a moment so he didn’t have to see Raina’s unreadable face in front of him.

When he opened his eyes Nimah and Alex were gone; he caught Raina’s eyes on him before she looked at her plate again.

‘I need to go.’ she said quietly and stood up.

‘Wait’ he said without thinking and she froze, looking at him with some strange sadness in her eyes.

‘Did I do something wrong?’ he asked quickly. He needed to know. He needed to fix it.

Raina smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.

‘No. I did.’

Simon had never believed that feelings could cause a physical pain.

But that striking pain in his chest was real.

Raina knew that she could blame only herself. It was so obvious that Simon was interested in Nimah, because who wouldn’t be? She was open, sarcastic, funny and attractive. She was everything Raina wasn’t. 

Raina really didn’t want to disturb them... so she just stepped away.

But she had already let him to find a place in her heart and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

She shook her head and tried to listen to Miss Shaw, who was explaining how to solve a terrible equation written on a board.

But she couldn’t focus.

How it was even possible? Why was she caring about him so much? They had met only a few weeks earlier...

‘Raina, are you listening to me?’ Miss Shaw’s voice was sharp and loud in Raina’s ears. ‘Could you tell me the result of this equation?’

Raina was staring at the board, her mind completely blank. She was ready to give up when she heard a quiet whisper from her left.

‘It’s... 2x-y?’ she said, unsure if she had heard correctly.

‘That’s right.’ Miss Shaw nodded and Raina glared at her left.

‘Thank you.’ she whispered gratefully and Shelby Wyatt smiled at her in response.

‘Thank you once again.’ Raina said when she met Shelby right after leaving a clasroom.

‘It’s okay.’ Shelby smiled ‘I could see you were distracted. Are you okay?’

Raina just smiled but apparently that didn’t convince Shelby.

‘Boy drama?’ she asked friendly and Raina’s heart skipped a beat ‘Don’t worry, they’re not worth it, believe me.’ she said and then hear smile faded.

Raina followed her gaze and saw Caleb, who was standing nearby.

‘But sometimes they are.’ Shelby added quietly and Raina just softly touched her shoulder.

Simon found Nimah next to a soda machine.

‘Nimah, can we talk for a second?’ 

‘Yeahk, sure.’ she answered simply ‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.

‘Not really.’

‘Okay, tell me, I’ll try to help.’

‘It’s about Raina.’ Simon said quickly and Nimah narrowed her eyes.

‘What about her?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘She’s avoiding me.’ he blurted ‘And I don’t know what did I do wrong, maybe I somehow insulted her, I don’t kno...’

‘Stop.’ Nimah cut him off and Simon looked at her, surprised.

‘You shoult talk to her.’ 

‘I’ve tried.’ Simon said, trying not to sound too miserable ‘But she doesn’t want to talk with me.’

Nimah sighed.

‘She’s impossible. Okay, Simon, listen to me. My sister likes you, okay? That’s the thing I know for sure. I’m not comletely sure why she’s avoiding you, but it’s not because you did something wrong.’

Simon was staring at her, speechless, with a hurricane in his head. He didn’t understand anything and that was a strange feeling, because usually he was good in finding solutions.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Nimah asked and Simon blinked in surprise.

‘What...?’ he asked weakly.

Nimah rolled her eyes.

’Go and make her smile or I’ll kick your ass.’

 


	5. can we surrender?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! Hope you enjoy :)

 

Raina always liked parks; she liked being surrounded by trees, she liked to hear birds and wind and children’s laugh.

She was sharing a bench with an older copule; they were talking to each other quietly, their hands were touching softly from time to time. There was something in them what was making Raina feel warm and calm inside but at the same time she could feel a little stings in her heart.

Okay, maybe she was a little jealous.

She glanced at her left, where the awful fountain was spitting water with a happy noise. She remembered when Simon had showed it her for the first time. She had been so happy...

So in love.

 

Raina shook her head quickly, but the thought- the feeling- was already stuck there, impossible to wipe off.

She was good in hiding things from everyone but herself.

That’s why she had known. It had took one look in his eyes for her to understand.

She had fallen in love with him the moment she had met him.

Because that what’s love was for her- when you look into somobody’s eyes and you see there the same hankering that you feel; when you look into somebody’s eyes and you see there a place for yourself, a place where you want to stay forever.

 

She wasn’t a coward, she was just afraid of trying. Of getting hurt. And she didn’t want to jump between Simon and Nimah, she couldn’t do that.

So yes, her heart was a little broken, but she would be fine.

 

 

The older couple stood up and walked slowly towards the centre of the park. Man’s hand was lying protictevly on his wife’s shoulder. Raina was watching them, distracted, so she didn’t quite notice when somebody stopped next to her. She registeres a movement on her left and she thought that somebody probably wanted to sit next to her. She turned her head, ready to say that the bench was free- and she froze with a half- smile on her face and wide eyes.

‘Hi’ Simon breathed out. His cheeks were blushing and he was breathing a little bit too fast.

‘Were you running?’ Raina asked without thinking.

‘Umm... yes. I was... I was looking for you.’

‘For me?’

‘Yes.’ he said, his voice filled with something that could be determination ‘For you.’

Raina didn’t know what to say, so she was just staring at him, trying to concentrate on her breathing.

Simon blinked a few times; suddenly he looked like all the courage had left him. He was also staring at her and Raina couldn’t help but smile a little. It was stronger than her.

He returned her smile, his eyes lite up and her heart fluttered in her chest.

‘You were looking for me.’ she reminded him softly.

‘Yes. I was.’ he paused, looking like he wasn’t sure what to say.

‘And you’re here.’ Raina said. She was confused. Why Simon had been looking for her?

‘Is this about Nimah?’ she asked quietly, a part of her afraid of the answer.

‘No. Why?’ Simon said with a surprise in his voice.

Raina didn’t answer; she looked at her hands, suddenly not able to look Simon in the eyes.

There was a moment of silence and then Simon gasped quietly.

‘Oh.’

He sat carefully next to her and, after a moment of hesitation, gently touched her hand. Her heart stopped for a second and she thought that it was ridiculous. It was ridiculous that someone could have so much influence on her.

‘Raina’ he said quietly ‘It’s not... Can you look at me? Please?’

She took a deeper breath and looked at him. He looked so vulnerable, his face open and honest.

‘It’s not about Nimah. I don’t...’ he paused again and made a frustrated sound. He let go of her hand and stood up, standing in front of her. He ran his hand through his hair and Raina was already missing his touch.

‘Crap.’ he said suddenly ‘Crap, crap.’

He looked at her, helpless, with so many words hidden in his eyes, words he couldn’t manage to say ou loud. Raina could see how difficult it was for him and her heart clenched painfully.

‘Just tell me.’ she said, maybe a little bit too harsh, but her feelings- confusion, bits of some strange sadness and hope- were overwhelming her and she needed to know.

He glared at her once more and nodded quietly.

Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

It was just a brief touch of their lips, bit it was enough. Raina’s heart skipped a beat and then started to beat incredibly fast. Her mind was blank- she couldn’t think, she could just feel.

Simon backed out after a few seconds, his face unsure.

‘I’m sorry.’ he said quickly. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something more, but she just lightly shook his head.

Raina stood up slowly, with racing thoughts and small troubles with breathing. She raised her hand and carefully touched his cheek, feeling a strange sensation on the tips of her fingers.

Their faces were just inches away.

Simon laughed shortly and a little bit nervously. She couldn’t help but smiled, closing her eyes for a moment.

‘I don’t know what to say.’ he whispered and she could hear smile in his voice. ‘I should say that I can’t stop thinking about you but that would be super cheesy.’

Raina chuckled. She was feeling like she could fly.

‘I can go with cheesy.’ she whispered.

This time she kissed him first.

 

 

 

‘You’re lucky.’ Nimah said to Simon when she met him before classes.

‘Yeah, I know.’ Simon answered, watching Raina who was standing nearby and talking with Alex and Ryan.

Nimah rolled her eyes.

‘I mean that you’re lucky I don’t have to kick your ass.’ she smirked ‘But yeah, this too.’

Simon just smiled at her, grateful.

 

‘Hi’ Raina smiled and Simon’s heart fluttered.

‘Hi’ he grinned back.

Nimah sighed dramatically.

‘Man, just kiss already. If you don’t mind that everybody’s watching, including Elias. You wanna finally break his heart?’

But Simon wasn’t listening to her anymore.

 

‘But I swear, Simon, hurt her and I'll kill you.'

‘I won’t. I promise.’

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading despite obvious flaws :) Love you all and thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Love you all :)   
> Special thanks for everyone who left kudos or a comment :)


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